More hooks than you can poke a stick at, but that’s okay because the hooks are catchy. You’ll be singing along in no time.

It’s melodramatic, which irks, and Perry’s vocal style is still as boring and overblown as ever, but the real thing in this record is beat and melody, and it has that in spades. Tinges of funk, disco, and even a moment Eurovision show that there’s some variation in what she can do, but overall it does play out in a pretty predictable way and really everything she’s doing was done back in the eighties. I wouldn’t be worried though, it’s still going to sell like hotcakes.

SIDENOTE: Why must every pop record this year sound so much like the eighties music I already enjoyed once?

RATING: C-

NOTABLE CUTS: Legendary Lovers/ Dark Horse/ This Is How We Do

TRASH: Birthday/ Walking On Air/ Love Me

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Burials – A.F.I

Released 22nd October on Republic

Metal/ Hard-Rock/ Alternative

Spaciously recorded, overbearingly dark, and unselfconsciously humdrum. AFI think they’re being clever and deep, but really they’re the same whiny brats they always were. There are a few moments of metal-grandeur on here, but mostly they come off as a group of half-arsed Marilyn Manson fans who never got the memo that it was all a joke.

Havok’s vocals are spot on as usual, but his lyrics have taken an even more obnoxious and self-obsessed turn. The real letdown, however, is the incredibly bland song-writing. Few moments to actually rock out even then it’s hard to do it without feeling you’ve just been conned.

RATING: D+

NOTABLE CUTS: A Deep Slow Panic/ 17 Crimes

TRASH: I Hope You Suffer/ The Conductor/ Rewind/ The Embrace

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Wrapped In Red – Kelly Clarkson

Released 25th October on RCA

Pop/ Rock/ Jazz/ Christmas

It’s apparently Christmas time again, which means we’re all in for another round of mindlessly tortured standards sung by the latest pop sensation. Clarkson’s new record is no exception, but at least she brings a little bit of feeling and a little bit less novelty to the table.

There’s some good cuts on here and it’s mainly secular, which is a nice treat, but she still goes in and murders some of the classics. All in all, however, it’s definitely not the worst holiday record I’ve ever heard.

Clarkson has a real set of lungs on her, and it’s great to hear her belting out the blues, still though, Christmas albums… ugh.